Applying for a job using social network information

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods for displaying a user interface object associated with a job candidate&#39;s social networking site proximate to a job listing presented by a website are described. When a job candidate selects the user interface object, the systems and methods identify and/or obtain information associated with the job candidate that is located or otherwise stored at the social networking site of which the job candidate is a member. Once the information is identified and/or obtained, the systems and methods provide the information to the website, such as to a job application submission system associated with the website.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationNo. 61/672,578, filed on Jul. 17, 2012, entitled APPLYING FOR A JOB VIAA WEB PAGE USER INTERFACE OBJECT, which is hereby incorporated byreference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure generally relates to providing job applicationservices via websites. More specifically, the present disclosure relatesto methods, systems and computer program products for using socialnetwork information in job application services.

BACKGROUND

There are many different ways to apply for a job. A candidate may mailor email a cover letter and resume to a company looking to fill aposition, may visit a job fair and fill out an application, and/or maysubmit application materials via a website configured to displayavailable job listings and receive submissions from prospectivecandidates, among other ways.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Some embodiments of the technology are illustrated by way of example andnot limitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a networkenvironment including a server operating a system for providingapplication information to a website associated with job listings,consistent with some embodiments.

FIG. 2A is a display diagram illustrating a user interface objectproximate to a job listing presented by a website, consistent with someembodiments.

FIG. 2B is a display diagram illustrating displayed social graphinformation to a job candidate, consistent with some embodiments.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating modules of the applicationsystem, consistent with some embodiments.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram illustrating an example method performed by ascript for providing application information associated with a jobcandidate to a website, consistent with some embodiments.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating an example method performed by aserver associated with a social networking site to provide applicationinformation associated with a job candidate to a website, consistentwith some embodiments.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating modules of the listing displaysystem, consistent with some embodiments.

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram illustrating an example method for displayingjob listings via a website, consistent with some embodiments.

FIG. 8A is a display diagram illustrating a display of user interfaceobjects via a website based on a viewer of the website, consistent withsome embodiments.

FIG. 8B is a display diagram illustrating displayed job listings basedon viewers of a website, consistent with some embodiments.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of a machine in the form of a computing devicewithin which a set of instructions, for causing the machine to performany one or more of the methodologies discussed herein, may be executed.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Overview

The present disclosure describes methods, systems, and computer programproducts, which individually provide functionality for providingapplication materials for a job candidate to a website. In someexamples, the systems and methods display a user interface object,associated with a job candidate's social networking site, proximate to ajob listing presented by a website. When a job candidate selects theuser interface object, the systems and methods identify and/or obtaininformation associated with the job candidate that is located orotherwise stored at the social networking site of which the jobcandidate is a member. Once the information is identified and/orobtained, the systems and methods provide the information to thewebsite, such as to a job application submission system associated withthe website, effectively applying for a job on behalf of the candidateusing information from the candidate's member profile within the socialnetworking site, among other benefits.

For example, the employment page of a large company may display listinginformation identifying jobs available at the company, along with auser-selectable button that, upon being selected by a job candidate,causes a script running on the website to obtain information associatedwith the job candidate (e.g., employment information, educationinformation, social graph information, location information, and so on)from a social network that includes the job candidate as a member. Theemployment page may then present the obtained information to the jobcandidate for review and approval, may receive additional informationfrom the job candidate (e.g., a cover letter or other document), andsubmit the obtained and/or received information as application materialson behalf of the job candidate.

In some examples, a website presenting job listings may selectivelypresent job listings and/or user interface objects that facilitate thesubmission of application materials, based on information associatedwith a viewer of the website. For example, the website may receiveinformation identifying a viewer and information associated with variousattributes for the viewer, and present a modified display of joblistings based on the received information.

For example, a job seeker accesses an employment website and searchesfor jobs via a keyword search of “electrical engineering.” Beforedisplaying job listings that satisfy the search, the website obtainsinformation associated with the job seeker, such as via member profileinformation from a social networking site of which the job seeker is amember, that indicates the job seeker has a PhD in ElectricalEngineering, and modifies the displayed job listings by presenting userinterface objects that facilitate submitting application materials onlynext to job listings that require an advanced degree.

In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerousspecific details are set forth in order to provide a thoroughunderstanding of the various aspects of different embodiments of thepresent invention. It will be evident, however, to one skilled in theart, that the present invention may be practiced without all of thespecific details.

Other advantages and aspects of the inventive subject matter will bereadily apparent from the description of the figures that follows.

Suitable System

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a networkenvironment 100 including a server operating a system for providingapplication information to a website associated with job listings,consistent with some embodiments. The network environment 100 includesan employment website 110, such as a job aggregation website oremployment page within a company website, that communicates via anetwork with a social networking site 130 and one or more user devices140 associated with users, such as job candidates with jobs listed anddisplayed by the employment website 110.

In various example embodiments, one or more portions of the network 120may include an ad hoc network, an intranet, an extranet, a virtualprivate network (VPN), a local area network (LAN), a wireless LAN(WLAN), a wide area network (WAN), a wireless WAN (WWAN), a metropolitanarea network (MAN), a portion of the Internet, a portion of the PublicSwitched Telephone Network (PSTN), a cellular telephone network, anyother type of network, or a combination of two or more such networks. Auser device 140 may be any suitable computing device, such as a smartphone, a tablet, a laptop, gaming device, and/or any mobile device orcomputing device configured to display job listings and receiveselections from users of objects displayed by webpages and/or apps.

The employment website 110 may be supported and/or provided by a serverthat includes a submission system 117, such as a system that providesjob listings and facilitates receipt of application materials from jobcandidates via the website 110. In some examples, the submission systemmay execute a script 115 associated with the social networking site 130that causes the website to present a user interface object (e.g., abutton or other user-selectable displayed object) that, when selected bya job candidate, causes the website to obtain information associatedwith a job candidate from the social networking site 130.

In some examples, the employment website may include a listing displaysystem 119 that causes the script 115 or other display components withinthe employment website to selectively display job listing information,user interface objects, and so on, based on information associated withviewers of job listings pages presented by the employment website 110.

A social networking site is a useful location in which to obtain varioustypes of information associated with a job candidate and/or viewer of ajob listings page. Often, a social network or other similar site, suchas LinkedIn, Facebook, Google+, Twitter, and so on, stores various typesof information associated with members of the site. For example, afriend-based social networking site may store interest information for amember (e.g., information about things a member “likes”), whereas abusiness-based social networking site may store accomplishment orexperience information for a member (e.g., educational or workexperience information). Additionally, the social networking site 130may store a variety of information associated with a member's socialgraph, such as information identifying other members within the member'ssocial graph.

Returning to FIG. 1, a user device 140 may display, via a user interface145, one or more pages of job listings to a job candidate, as well asuser interface objects proximate to the job listings, for selection by ajob candidate. For example, a job candidate may navigate a browser orapp supported by the user device 140 to a webpage displayed by website110, and, in response to viewing a job listing associated with a job theuser would like to apply for, select a display user interface object tobegin an application process in order to apply for the job.

Once the user interface object is selected, the script 115 communicateswith an application system 150 at the social networking site 130,providing identification information for the user, such as informationthat identifies the user as a member of the social networking site. Theapplication system 150 obtains various types of information (e.g.,profile information, social graph information, and so on) associatedwith the member from a member database 135, and transfers theinformation to the script 115. Once received, the script 115 may submitthe information as an application submission to the submission systemand/or may present the information to the user, who may approve and/orprovide more information (e.g., a cover letter, other information notprovided by the social networking site, and so on). Once approved, thescript 115 may package the information and submit the information to thesubmission system 117 on behalf of the job candidate.

Thus, the systems and methods described herein, may, in some examples,provide a job candidate with a simple and effective process for applyingfor a job via a website, among other benefits. FIGS. 2A and 2B depictuser interface objects and social graph information displayed to jobcandidates, consistent with some embodiments.

In FIG. 2A, the display diagram 200 depicts a job listings page 210presented by an employment website, such as website 110. The joblistings page 210 presents job listings 215, 217 along with userinterface objects 225, 227 proximate to the job listings. As describedherein, the user interface objects may be user-selectable buttons orother graphical elements that, when selected by a job candidate, causesthe page to obtain information about the job candidate via a socialnetworking site of which the job candidate is a member.

In FIG. 2B, the display diagram 230 depicts the presentation ofinformation to a job candidate in response to a selection of one of theuser interface objects 225, 227 depicted in FIG. 2A. For example, inresponse to the selection of user interface object 225, a new userinterface 240 is presented that displays social graph informationassociated with the job and/or the job candidate that made theselection. In this example, the user interface 240 presents information245 identifying a connection to the job candidate within the socialnetwork that is associated with a company that is sponsoring the joblisting 215. The user interface, in addition to presenting information,may direct the job candidate to member profiles, may provide informationabout a company associated with the job listing 215, may connect the jobcandidate to one or more members (e.g., “John” in the FIG.) associatedwith the job listing, and so on.

Of course, one or ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that otherinformation may be presented in response to the selection of userinterface objects by job candidates.

Applying for a Job Via a User Interface Object Associated with a SocialNetwork

As described herein, in some example embodiments, the social networkingsite 130 includes and supports an application system 150, such as asystem that enables and/or facilitates the submission of job applicationmaterials on behalf of members of the social networking site tosubmission systems 117 associated with employment websites. FIG. 3 is ablock diagram illustrating modules of an application system 150,consistent with some embodiments.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, the application submission system 150 includesa variety of functional modules. One skilled in the art will appreciatethat the functional modules are implemented with a combination ofsoftware (e.g., executable instructions, or computer code) and hardware(e.g., at least a memory and processor). Accordingly, as used herein, insome embodiments a module is a processor-implemented module andrepresents a computing device having a processor that is at leasttemporarily configured and/or programmed by executable instructionsstored in memory to perform one or more of the particular functions thatare described herein.

Referring to FIG. 3, the application system 150 includes a script module310, an information module 320, an entry module 330, and other modulesnot shown in the Figure.

In some examples, the script module 310 is configured and/or programmedto communicate with a script running on an employment site. For example,the script may transfer profile or social graph information associatedwith a member of the social networking site 130 to a third party site,such as an employment site, that requests information associated withthe member via the running script.

In some examples, the information module 320 is configured and/orprogrammed to locate and/or obtain profile and/or social graphinformation associated with a member of the social networking site 130,and provide the information, or a link identifying a location (e.g. apointer to a location within dB 135) in which the information is stored,to the script module 310. Example information obtained and/or identifiedby the information module 320 may include member profile information(e.g., location information, employment history information, educationinformation, skills information, activities information, interestsinformation, awards information, affiliations information, authenticityscore information, and so on), social graph information (informationassociated with friends or other member associated with the member,groups information, and so on), information associated with referencesfor the member, and so on.

In some examples, the entry module 330 is configured and/or programmedto receive input directly from a job candidate, such as via a userinterface presented by the script 115 running at the website 110. Forexample, the entry module 330 may enable the script to present a userinterface configured to receive input associated with questionspresented to a job candidate or other text input, configured to receivedocuments or other files (e.g, cover letters, music files, video files,image files and so on), configure to receive links to webpagesassociated with the job candidate, and so on.

Furthermore, in some examples, the entry module 330 facilitates theediting and/or other modification of information obtained via theinformation module 320 that is to be presented to the submission system117 on behalf of the job candidate. For example, the entry module 330may enable a job candidate to remove certain information, edit certaininformation, expand on certain information, re-order the display ofcertain information, and so on.

Of course, one of ordinary skill in the art will realize that theapplication system 150 may include other modules now shown in theFigure, such as modules that store and/or analyse information, modulesthat provide security or identification processes, and so on.

As described herein, the employment website 110 may include and/orsupport a script that causes a user interface object associated with asocial networking site to obtain and submit job application informationon behalf of a job candidate, among other things. For example, asuitable script may be configured as follows:

<html> <head>  <title>Apply with LinkedIn</title> </head> <body> <scripttype=“text/javascript” src=“http://platform.linkedin.com/in.js”> api_key: YOUR_API_KEY </script> <script type=“IN/Apply” data-companyId=“1337”  data-jobTitle=“Chief Cat Wrangler” data-email=“your-email-address@your-company.com”> </script> </body>     </html>

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram illustrating an example method 400 performed bya script for providing application information associated with a jobcandidate to a website, consistent with some embodiments. In step 410,the script receives input from a user, such as a job candidate. Forexample, a job candidate may select a user interface object displayed bythe script.

In step 420, the script obtains information associated with jobcandidate via a social network in which the job candidate is a member.For example, the information module 320 of the application system 150may obtain information from the job candidate's profile data stored in adatabase 135 at the social networking site 130 that provides the scriptand that includes the job candidate as a member. Example data and/orinformation that may be obtained includes:

Profile information, such as information associated with a member'seducation background (e.g., school information, degree information,grade information, exam information, activity information, organizationinformation, and so on), work history (e.g., company information, jobtitle information, job skills information, job responsibilityinformation, length of employment information, and so on), memberinformation (e.g., residence information, citizenship information,language information, activity and interest information, and so on), andso on;

Social graph information, such as profile information associated withfriends, connections, group affiliations, references, and so on of amember; and so on.

In step 430, the script optionally obtains additional information fromthe job candidate. For example, the script, via the entry module 330,may request for and receive documents or other files, text entry, orother information directly from the job candidate. The script maypresent a user interface that includes elements that facilitateobtaining such information, such as text entry boxes, upload elements,and so on.

In step 440, the script displays the information to the job candidate.For example, the script may present a user interface that presents thevarious types of information obtained from the job candidate's socialnetworking site that is to be submitted to the website on behalf of thejob candidate.

Optionally, in step 450, the script may receive input from the jobcandidate associated with modifying and/or approving the submission ofthe information. For example, the script, via the entry module 330, mayreceive from the job candidate input associated with editing a portionof the information, deleting a portion of the information, addinginformation, reorganizing the information, and so on.

In step 460, the script transfers the information to the employment sitefor submission. For example, the script, via the script module 310, maytransfer the information as an application submission package on behalfof the job candidate to the submission system 117 of the employment site110.

Thus, in some examples, the script presents a user interface objectproximate to a job listing, and, upon receiving a selection of theobject by a job candidate, obtains information from a social networkingsite that includes the job candidate as a member and submits theobtained information as an application for the job on behalf of thecandidate.

As described herein, the script 115 provided and/or supported by anemployment website is, in some examples, associated with a socialnetworking site 130 that stores data for members of the site andprovides information to the script to facilitate the submission ofapplication materials for members, among other things. FIG. 5 is a flowdiagram illustrating an example method 500 performed by a serverassociated with a social networking site to provide applicationinformation associated with a job candidate to a website, consistentwith some embodiments.

In step 510, the application system receives a request for informationfrom a script running on an employment website. For example, the scriptmodule 310 receives a request, such as an API call via an API, whichincludes information identifying a member of the social networking site.The request may also include other information, such as informationidentifying the employment site, information identifying the format inwhich to return information to the script, and so on.

In some examples, an employment site may request submissions to beemailed to the site, and utilize an email mechanism that provides asubmission email address along with the request (e.g., via a parametersuch as data-email =“resumes@mycompany.com”).

In some examples, an employment site may request submissions to be in ascheme such that the data can be processed and stored in variousdatabase, and utilize an HTTP POST mechanism that obtains theapplication information in XML or JSON formats (e.g., via a parametersuch as data—url=“http://mycompany.com/rest/jobposting”). Of course, oneof ordinary skill in the art will realize that other submission schemamay be used.

Additionally, in some examples, the request may include parameters thatidentify certain types of information to be obtained. For example, therequest employment site may request to only receive employmentinformation for certain job postings, and may request all profileinformation for other job postings.

In step 520, the application system identifies and/or located therequested information. For example, the information module 320 maylocate the requested information via a member database 155 that storesinformation associated with members of the social networking site 130.As described herein, the information module 320 may locate profileinformation, social graph information, reference information and/orother information associated with a member and stored by the socialnetworking site 130.

In step 530, the application system transfers the located information,or a link to the located information, to the script. For example, thescript module 310 may transfer a link such as<src=http://api.linkedin.com/v1/people/url=<usernameprofile> to thescript.

Thus, in some examples, the social networking site 130, via theapplication system 150, receives request for information from scriptsrunning on employment sites, and provides the information in anyrequested form, among other things.

Displaying Job Listings Based on Knowledge of a Viewer of the Listings

As described herein, in some examples, an employment site, a scriptfacilitating the display of user interface objects proximate to joblistings, and/or another resource associated with displaying joblistings to viewers of websites may modify the display of job listingsbased on information associated with a viewer of a job listings page,such as social network profile information attributed to the viewer.FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating modules of the listing displaysystem 119, consistent with some embodiments.

As illustrated in FIG. 6, the listing display system 119 includes avariety of functional modules. One skilled in the art will appreciatethat the functional modules are implemented with a combination ofsoftware (e.g., executable instructions, or computer code) and hardware(e.g., at least a memory and processor). Accordingly, as used herein, insome embodiments a module is a processor-implemented module andrepresents a computing device having a processor that is at leasttemporarily configured and/or programmed by executable instructionsstored in memory to perform one or more of the particular functions thatare described herein.

Referring to FIG. 6, the listing display system 119 includes a viewermodule 610, a match module 620, and a display module 630. In someexamples, the viewer module 610 is configured and/or programmed toidentify, determine, and/or otherwise attribute information to a viewerof a website, such as a viewer of a job listings website associated witha company or job listings website. For example, the viewer module 610may identify social network profile information, social graphinformation, and so on, as certain information to be assigned to aviewer of a website.

In some examples, the match module 620 is configured and/or programmedto match information associated with a viewer to information associatedwith a job listing or job listings. For example, the matching mayidentify a viewer's education or employment history from social networkinformation associated with a viewer, such as degree information,companies the viewer has worked for, work experience information,education information, skills information, information associated withconnections within the viewer's social graph, and so on, to keywordswithin a title, description, or tag associated with a job listing.

In some examples, the application system 150 may include a displaymodule 630 configured and/or programmed to display job listings via awebsite based on information associated with a viewer of the website.For example, the display module 630 may display job listings thatinclude attribute information matching information associated with theviewer, and not display job listings that include attribute informationthat does not match information associated with the viewer. Thus, insome examples, the display module 630 may cause a website to displayfirst set of job listings to a first viewer of the website, and asecond, different, set of job listings to a second viewer of thewebsite, among other things.

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram illustrating an example method 700 fordisplaying job listings via a website, consistent with some embodiments.In step 710, the employment site determines attribute information for aviewer of a website. For example, the employment site, via the viewermodule 610, may identify or locate information via an application system150 of a social networking site 130 that includes the viewer as amember. Example attribute information may include profile information,social graph information, and so on.

In step 720, the employment site matches viewer attribute information toinformation associated with a job listing or job listings. For example,the employment site, via the match module 620, may match informationdescribing a viewers education or employment history, such as degreeinformation, companies the viewer has worked for, and so on, to keywordswithin a title, description, or tag associated with a job listing.

In step 730, the employment site presents job listings via a joblistings page based on the match. For example, the employment site, viathe display module 630, may present job listings that include words orphrases that match or are associated with attributes assigned to theviewer, and not present job listings that do not match.

For example, the employment site may present a complete set of joblistings to a generic group of viewers of the website, a first set ofjob listings that is a first subset of the complete set of job listingsto a first identified viewer of the website, and a second set of joblistings that is a second, different, subset of the complete set of joblistings to a second identified viewer of the website.

In some examples, the employment site, or a script that presents userinterface objects proximate to job listings to facilitate a jobcandidate applying for a job associated with a job listing, mayselectively display the user interface objects based on informationassociated with a viewer of the job listing. For example, whenpresenting a job listing, the script may determine that the member of asocial networking site providing the script is qualified for the jobassociated with the listing, and present a user interface object tofacilitate submission of an application.

For example, FIG. 8A depicts a display 800 of user interface objects viaa website based on a viewer of the website, consistent with someembodiments. Display 800 is similar to display 200, depicting a joblisting 815 for a database administrator, and a job listing 825 for a UIspecialist. However, instead of displaying user interface objectsproximate to both listings, a script configured to display the objectsonly displays user interface object 817 proximate to the databaseadministrator job listing 815, because the script determined thatprofile information associated with the viewer indicated previousexperience as a database administrator.

As another example, FIG. 8B depicts a display of a job listings page 830that presents a first set of job listings 842-846 to a first viewer(Viewer X), and a second set of job listings 852-856 to a second viewer(Viewer Y). In the example, when the listing display system 119described herein identifies a first viewer as having work experienceabove a certain threshold (e.g., experience as an engineering teamleader), the system causes the page 830 to present a first set of joblistings (e.g., Product Manager 842, VP of Engineering 844, and TeamLead 846) that are associated with the first viewer's experienceinformation. However, when a second viewer having less or different workexperience navigates to the page, the system causes the page 830 topresent a second, different, set of job listings (e.g., Product Manager852, Product Developer II 854, Product Developer I 856), that areassociated with (and possibly better suited to) the second viewer'sexperience information.

Thus, in some examples, an employment website may perform a rule-basedprocess in order to determine how to present job listings to a viewer ofa job listings page. For example, the employment website may perform thefollowing rule-based processes:

Display a user interface object proximate to a job listing when a vieweris associated with information that matches at least one word or phrasewithin a title of a job listing;

Display a user interface object proximate to a job listing when a vieweris associated with information that matches at least one word or phrasewithin a description of a job listing;

Display the job listing when a highest level of education associatedwith a viewer is greater than or equal to an education requirementassociated with the job listing;

Display the job listing when a number of years of experience associatedwith a viewer is greater than or equal to an experience requirementassociated with the job listing;

Display a modified job listing when a residence associated with a viewerdoes not match a location associated with the job listing;

Display a modified job listing when an experience level of the viewerdoes not match an experience level associated with the job listing;

Select a certain job listing to display for a company based on aneducation level and/or experience level associated with the viewer; andso on.

Thus, in some examples, an employment website may selectively displayjob listings and/or user interface objects to viewers of a jobs pagebased on the type of viewer that is viewing the jobs pages, enabling theemployment website to target job listings to potential candidates thatmay be deemed to be qualified for the listed jobs, among other things.Furthermore, selectively displaying job listings may enable a company orother entity associated with the job listings to avoid receivinginquiries and job applications from potential candidates are not deemedto be qualified for associated jobs, among other benefits.

CONCLUSION

Some example embodiments of the technology, therefore, enable anemployment site to receive application submissions on behalf of jobcandidates based on information obtained from social networking sitesthat include the job candidates as members, among other benefits.

The various operations of example methods described herein may beperformed, at least partially, by one or more processors that aretemporarily configured (e.g., by software) or permanently configured toperform the relevant operations. Whether temporarily or permanentlyconfigured, such processors may constitute processor-implementedmodules, engines, objects or devices that operate to perform one or moreoperations or functions. The modules, engines, objects and devicesreferred to herein may, in some example embodiments, compriseprocessor-implemented modules, engines, objects and/or devices.

Similarly, the methods described herein may be at least partiallyprocessor-implemented. For example, at least some of the operations of amethod may be performed by one or more processors orprocessor-implemented modules. The performance of certain operations maybe distributed among the one or more processors, not only residingwithin a single machine or computer, but deployed across a number ofmachines or computers. In some example embodiments, the processor orprocessors may be located in a single location (e.g., within a homeenvironment, an office environment or at a server farm), while in otherembodiments the processors may be distributed across a number oflocations.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of a machine in the form of a computer systemor computing device within which a set of instructions, for causing themachine to perform any one or more of the methodologies discussedherein, may be executed. In alternative embodiments, the machineoperates as a standalone device or may be connected (e.g., networked) toother machines. In a networked deployment, the machine may operate inthe capacity of a server or a client machine in a client-server networkenvironment, or as a peer machine in a peer-to-peer (or distributed)network environment. In some embodiments, the machine will be a desktopcomputer, or server computer, however, in alternative embodiments, themachine may be a tablet computer, a mobile phone, a personal digitalassistant, a personal audio or video player, a global positioningdevice, a set-top box, a web appliance, or any machine capable ofexecuting instructions (sequential or otherwise) that specify actions tobe taken by that machine. Further, while only a single machine isillustrated, the term “machine” shall also be taken to include anycollection of machines that individually or jointly execute a set (ormultiple sets) of instructions to perform any one or more of themethodologies discussed herein.

The example computer system 1500 includes a processor 1502 (e.g., acentral processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU) orboth), a main memory 1501 and a static memory 1506, which communicatewith each other via a bus 1508. The computer system 1500 may furtherinclude a display unit 1510, an alphanumeric input device 1517 (e.g., akeyboard), and a user interface (UI) navigation device 1511 (e.g., amouse). In one embodiment, the display, input device and cursor controldevice are a touch screen display. The computer system 1500 mayadditionally include a storage device 1516 (e.g., drive unit), a signalgeneration device 1518 (e.g., a speaker), a network interface device1520, and one or more sensors 1521, such as a global positioning systemsensor, compass, accelerometer, or other sensor.

The drive unit 1516 includes a machine-readable medium 1522 on which isstored one or more sets of instructions and data structures (e.g.,software 1523) embodying or utilized by any one or more of themethodologies or functions described herein. The software 1523 may alsoreside, completely or at least partially, within the main memory 1501and/or within the processor 1502 during execution thereof by thecomputer system 1500, the main memory 1501 and the processor 1502 alsoconstituting machine-readable media.

While the machine-readable medium 1522 is illustrated in an exampleembodiment to be a single medium, the term “machine-readable medium” mayinclude a single medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralized ordistributed database, and/or associated caches and servers) that storethe one or more instructions. The term “machine-readable medium” shallalso be taken to include any tangible medium that is capable of storing,encoding or carrying instructions for execution by the machine and thatcause the machine to perform any one or more of the methodologies of thepresent invention, or that is capable of storing, encoding or carryingdata structures utilized by or associated with such instructions. Theterm “machine-readable medium” shall accordingly be taken to include,but not be limited to, solid-state memories, and optical and magneticmedia. Specific examples of machine-readable media include non-volatilememory, including by way of example semiconductor memory devices, e.g.,EPROM, EEPROM, and flash memory devices; magnetic disks such as internalhard disks and removable disks; magneto-optical disks; and CD-ROM andDVD-ROM disks.

The software 1523 may further be transmitted or received over acommunications network 1526 using a transmission medium via the networkinterface device 1520 utilizing any one of a number of well-knowntransfer protocols (e.g., HTTP). Examples of communication networksinclude a local area network (“LAN”), a wide area network (“WAN”), theInternet, mobile telephone networks, Plain Old Telephone (POTS)networks, and wireless data networks (e.g., Wi-Fi® and WiMax® networks).The term “transmission medium” shall be taken to include any intangiblemedium that is capable of storing, encoding or carrying instructions forexecution by the machine, and includes digital or analog communicationssignals or other intangible medium to facilitate communication of suchsoftware.

Although an embodiment has been described with reference to specificexample embodiments, it will be evident that various modifications andchanges may be made to these embodiments without departing from thebroader spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, thespecification and drawings are to be regarded in an illustrative ratherthan a restrictive sense. The accompanying drawings that form a parthereof, show by way of illustration, and not of limitation, specificembodiments in which the subject matter may be practiced. Theembodiments illustrated are described in sufficient detail to enablethose skilled in the art to practice the teachings disclosed herein.Other embodiments may be utilized and derived therefrom, such thatstructural and logical substitutions and changes may be made withoutdeparting from the scope of this disclosure. This Detailed Description,therefore, is not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope ofvarious embodiments is defined only by the appended claims, along withthe full range of equivalents to which such claims are entitled.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method, comprising: receiving, via a userinterface object presented by a website, input associated with a requestto apply for an available job displayed by the website; retrievinginformation associated with a job candidate from a social networkingsite that includes the job candidate as a member; and providing theretrieved information associated with the job candidate to the website.2. The method of claim 1, wherein retrieving information associated withthe job candidate from a social networking site that includes the jobcandidate as a member includes retrieving profile information associatedwith the job candidate.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein retrievinginformation associated with the job candidate from a social networkingsite that includes the job candidate as a member includes retrievingsocial graph information associated with the job candidate.
 4. Themethod of claim 1, wherein retrieving information associated with thejob candidate from a social networking site that includes the jobcandidate as a member includes retrieving reference informationassociated with the job candidate.
 5. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: receiving information directly from the job candidate; andproviding the received information along with the retrieved informationto the website.
 6. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receivinga document directly from the job candidate; and providing the receiveddocument along with the retrieved information to the website.
 7. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising: presenting the retrievedinformation associated with the job candidate to the job candidate viaanother user interface object; receiving input from the job candidateassociated with the presented information; and providing a modifiedversion of the retrieved information to the website based on the inputreceived from the job candidate.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein theuser interface object is presented by the website within a javascriptplatform supported by the website.
 9. The method of claim 1, whereinretrieving information associated with the job candidate from a socialnetworking site that includes the job candidate as a member includes:submitting to the social networking site a request to obtain informationassociated with the job candidate, wherein the request includes anidentifier for the job candidate; and receiving a link from the socialnetworking site that identifies a location in which the informationassociated with the job candidate is stored.
 10. The method of claim 1,wherein receiving, via a user interface object presented by the website,input associated with a request to apply for an available job displayedby the website includes receiving an indication that the job candidatehas selected the user interface object.
 11. A system for providinginformation associated with a member of a social networking site to athird party site, the system comprising: a script module, wherein thescript module is configured to transfer profile or social graphinformation associated with the member to a third party site thatrequests information associated with the member via a script running onthe third party site; and an information module, wherein the informationmodule is configured to locate the profile or social graph informationassociated with the member at the social networking site.
 12. The systemof claim 11, wherein the information module is configured to receive anidentifier for the third party site and locate the profile or socialgraph information associated with the member at the social networkingsite that is based at least in part of the received identifier.
 13. Thesystem of claim 11, wherein the information module is configured tolocate information associated with previous employment and education ofthe member.
 14. The system of claim 11, wherein the information moduleis configured to locate information associated with other members withina common social graph of the member.
 15. The system of claim 11, whereinthe information module is configured to locate information associatedwith other members within a common social graph of the member that areassociated with an attribute identifying the third party site.
 16. Thesystem of claim 11, wherein the third party site is a job listing site,and wherein the script running on the third party site is configured todisplay a user-selectable button proximate to at least one job listingpresented by the job listing site.
 17. A computer-readable storagemedium whose contents, when executed by a computing system, cause thecomputing system to perform a method for transmitting informationassociated with a job candidate to a job listing server, the methodcomprising; displaying a user interface object proximate to a joblisting presented by a website associated with a job listing server;receiving input associated with a selection of the user interface objectvia a job candidate; obtaining information associated with the jobcandidate from a social networking site that includes the job candidateas a member; presenting the obtained information to the job candidatevia website; receiving input from the job candidate associated with anacceptance of the presented information; and transferring the presentedinformation to the job listing server.
 18. The computer-readable storagemedium of claim 17, further comprising: receiving information directlyfrom the job candidate; and transferring the presented information andthe directly received information to the job listing server.
 19. Thecomputer-readable storage medium of claim 17, further comprising: beforedisplaying the user interface object, determining one or more attributesassociated with the job candidate match one or more attributesassociated with the job listing; and displaying the user interfaceobject in response to the determination.